the first time. >> we heard the cries for help we heard the gunshot we heard the silence but there is still one question to be answered, why hasn't george zimmerman been arrested. loud calls for justice in the case of an unarmed black teenager gunned down by a neighbourhood watch captain. that captain has not been charged in the case and now the justice department is getting involved. despite early bloomings the big day is finally here official start of the cherry blossom festival the biggest yet celebrating 100 years of the treasure of the nations capital. fox 5 morning news at 7 starts now. and there is a live shot outside on what has been an eventful morning as far as weather goes rain, thunderstorm activity fog for this the first day of spring it is tuesday, march 20th, 2012 good morning i am tony perkins. >> i am allison seymour.

>> it is the first official day of spring,. >> tucker was out celebrating at rita's water ice in northeast this morning is he with us now? >> he is not with us he is on his way back because of the weather situation we have been dealing with so we will have him in a little bit maybe if we get lucky he will be able to go back out to rita's water ice. >> let me just say i saw his flavour that is the cutest you have a flavour now, holly and now tucker. >> i started it all. >> let's take a look at what is going on with our weather conditions around the region hd radar we have seen some pretty strong thunderstorms moving through and in fact, as you can see on hd radar it is coming through washington right now we have lightning deep reds and the purples indicates very heavy rain this was to the north now it is coming through, the city proper as we speak. areas of heavy rain and lightning activity as well in addition to that, off to our

east we see more areas of heavy rain largo along 495, prince georges county looks like maybe branch avenue that area, upper marlboro, you are getting this activity as well i am not seeing lightning but wouldn't be shocked if some pops up i will say this the good news the area covered by heavy rain and thunderstorm activity is decreasing that is some good news, let's go to the map i want to show you a fog advisory dense fog advisory in effect for these counties south of washington and some southern portions of maryland and in southern portions and southeastern portions of virginia, dense fog advisory in effect until 10:00 a.m., regan national, 63 degrees, relative humidity, 90% you really felt it when you stepped outside this morning it felt summer like it will be a spring like day looking for highs in the 70s low to mid-70s depending where you are lots of cloud and a few more showers later today. that is a look at what is

happening with weather now an update on traffic for that we go to julie wright. good morning it has been quite busy with mother nature and a funeral procession that worked its way to the gw parkway headed south. the outer loop of the belt way, grid locked with delays leaving land over trying to get past university boulevard silver spring continuing before connecticut avenue before the pace improves, heavy volume, southbound washington parkway and southbound 95 the funeral profession continued around the curve, traffic was grid locked not moving now some is able to get by heavy slow and steady out of rockville continuing down the southbound spur, connect to the outer loop, heavy volume across the american legion bridge that funeral procession is continuing towards arlington cemetery.

the accident gone at the third treat tunnel, delays across the potomac headed into southeast. thanks this mornings big story the sergeant accused of murdering 16 innocent civilians in afghanistan can't remember much of the shooting. >> that is according to his lawyer, will thomas is back for more on the afghan shooting suspect. >> good morning tony and allison the attorney for sergeant robert bales says his client only has a slight memory of the rampage last week he is at the militaries only maximum security prison at fort leaven worth kansas isolated from the rest of the inmates he spent 3.5 hours with bales and described it as one of the most emotional meetings of his career. john henry brown says he will probably not use an insanity defense but may argue he had diminished capacity during the

massacre of 16 innocent civilians including 9 children. an elderly cup until chicago claims he scammed them out of their life savings, he was ordered to pay more than a million dollars in a security fraud. we have not seen his wife, moving vans out side their home seattle washington yesterday they have been hunted down by the international media and bales wife and two daughters have been moved into protective federal custody. carolyn bales put out a statement saying my family including bob's extended families are all profoundly sad we extend our condolences to all the people in our district our hearts go out to all of them especially to the parents brothers sisters and grandparents of the children who perished, she goes on the say news reports are completely out of characters of the man i know and admire, allison and tony today on capital hill, the top american general in afghanistan is testifying about the war general alan is expected to tell lawmakers the

u.s. has no plans to with draw early from afghanistan we will continue to stay on top of this back to you. all right will thank you very much. votes are just beginning to be cast in illinois, the latest round in the fight for the republican presidential nomination. delegate leader mitt romney is ahead in most polls lack of campaign organization has his biggest rival rick santorum already going into today's primary at a disadvantage. doug luzader reports. >> this will be a real test for the romney campaign today they are hoping to pile on more delegates in what has become a protracted battle. mitt romney has a lot riding on illinois today, he is not yet the nominee but more and more he is playing the part going after president obama. >> he is out of ideas, out of excuses in 2012 we got to make sure he is out of office. >> rick santorum is his biggest threat even though recent polls

show him lagging and newt gingrich and ron paul are well behind santorum romney vastly out spent everyone in illinois a 7-1 advantage over santorum alone. >> we have seen in past elections money just doesn't buy elections and if it did you know mitt romney would have sewed up this nomination a long time ago he has been out spending all the candidates and it is not winning the election. santorum has another problem he is off the ballot in a number of illinois congressional districts ineligible for 10 of 54 delegates up for grabs. >> their campaign is trying to argue this is not just about illinois it is about wisconsin, louisiana down the roads this a long fight. >> a long fight romney hopes can be shortened posting a big win today. >> because santorum's ballot problems romney could lose the popular vote and still walk away with more delegates in washington, doug luzader fox news. dc council expected to take

up campaign finances today. ward 3 councilmember mary che plans to propose a $25 limit on money orders given to campaigns at this point mayor grey supports the plan. this comes after the u.s. attorneys office sent subpoenas to campaigns of several city leaders. >> what really prompted this of course is this indication we've had that people are using these money orders in a way to get around contribution limits and it is an invitation to mischief. >> there is probably a number of other issues we need to look at around campaign finance and just the overall monitoring of campaign finance, campaign contributions in the city. >> neither mayor or councilmember ches campaign received the recent subpoenas. if it clears the vote today it will be sent to committee for public input. >> well, it seems likely income

taxes on marylanders will go up just how many tax payers will be effected by this the state house committee voted to raise taxes on far fewer people than senate plan called for under the house proposal tax rates would go up by a quarter percent on single filers making more than $100,000 joint filers making more than $150,000 a year to make up for drop of revenue called for by senate maryland house plan calls for phasing in a teacher pension ship and making deeper cuts. some other top stories this morning city leaders and dc residents will attend a march and benefit raising awareness of violent attacks on members of the gay community in the district. the events are being organized by friends of the victims, last week two gay men and a trans gendered woman were hurt in three separate attacks they are classified as hate crimes the

march begins, 7:00 p.m. this evening ihop restaurant columbia heights. >> authorities investigating a dangerous discovery, the principal at the school sent a letter home to parents yesterday saying a 12-year-old student brought a gun to that school. the student says he brought the unloaded gun from home and was planning to sell it during his walk home from the bus. school officials say he was charged with possession, of the weapon and removed from the school he could also face expulsion. a statewide tornado drill is being held in virginia today, the national weather service will send test warnings at 9:45 a.m., going to trigger a tone alert and message on noa weather radio this is will prompt local radio and tv stations to broadcast test messages. last year 51 tornadoes did hit virginia second highest on record. spring is in the air today

winter is officially over, spring began 1:14 a.m., national cherry blossom festival begins today. peak bloom starts, 70% of the blossoms are open and so pretty pink -- excuse me peak bloom runs through friday the festival will run for 5 weeks we are celebrating 100 years since japan gave the cherry blossom trees to the district as a gift >> as always there are a tonne of events you can participate in this year tonight kicks off the festival with a signature pink tie party then th weekened you have family fun day on saturday and sunday, followed by the opening ceremony on sunday. you also have the blossom kite festival street festival parade to look forward to in coming weeks and we will tell you all about all of it. it is 11 minutes after 7:00 a.m. now, coming up next, an unarmed

black teen shot and killed in florida, the gunman claims it was self-defense but many questions are unanswered now the justice department is stepping in. >> also ahead strong storms tear through texas, we will have a look at the damage there. >> as we head to break a live lookout side, storms of our own this morning, there is a sky you don't see that often, early in the morning, we are going to get the latest on weather, and we will get an update on traffic as well in just a few moments stay with us for that it is 7:12 a.m. ♪

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making headlines bombings across iraq today killed at least 46 people, happens have been hurt. iraq -- hundreds have been hurt iraqi leaders had been hoping to show case the country's

civility. france is in shock and the biggest man hunt in decades is under way in the southern part of the country police are looking for the man or men who are behind yesterday's shooting at a jewish school in toulouse a man on a motorbike shot a rabbi his two sons and another little girl. severe weather whipping through parts of the u.s., forecasters say heavy rain and hail could cause major flooding in areas of oklahoma, missouri, kansas and texas overnight a tornado touched down just outside san antonio, reports of over turned big rigs and downed power lines are coming out of medina county. >> we have had thunder storm activity of our own tucker was here and then out to give away rita's water ice now he is back because of the weather. tucker looking rather manly. >> thank you very much tony. i feel like i should be running for president or something they

never wear jackets whichever >> at a certain point they don't. right. >> they try to play it cool. good morning showers and thunderstorms moving through they continue here at the time being but you know what i think most of the day will feature a mix of sun and clouds. there is a live look again lightning associated with this storminess that has been tracking in an unusual way from north to south and now pushing into southern maryland as you get down towards waldorf or la plata you will have thunderstorms shortly you can see it moving through prince georges county as well. here is your bigger picture let's move to max 2 there you can see we don't have a lot of thunderstorm and or shower activity, just one band pushing through the city and points east here at the moment most of the day will be sort of mixed with periods of cloudiness and sunshine, it will feel a little soupy for the first day of spring high temperatures will be in the mid-70s humidity out there, and then later tonight we will start to cool down back

into the 50s. 53 washington, 54 ocean city, 51 degrees fredericksburg here is your forecast today, and the next five days, 75, a few more showers in the forecast this afternoon 74 tomorrow highs near 80 by thursday and friday. so, maybe a little summer preview here for the first day of spring. all right that is a look at your forecast, let's see traffic and julie i never got my rita's ice i will have to go back. >> you know what you didn't bring me back one either. >> i didn't get one. >> so yes, you have to go back to rhode island avenue. i will meet you there after the show >> it's a date. on the roads right now tucker, as you know we have had these miserable storms come through and we have traffic problems as a result travelling eastbound 66 overpass behind me here that carries nutly across 66 the two car accident no one is able to get by as you can see all traffic is stopped right now thank you v dot moving that

camera, all traffic stopped 66, between 123 and nutly street because of that crash. 395 flows from the belt way, across the 14th street bridge earlier accident cleared southbound gw parkway stacking up as you travel south of cia funeral procession is south, continuing out towards arlington cemetery. you will find travelling the the inner loop of the belt way virginia van dooren street, accident activity tieing up the second lane from the right it is unusually slow from the inner loop travelling towards springfield leaving the isn'ter change toward 66, -- interchange toward 66 that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. u.s. justice department announced late last night it will investigate the shooting death of an unarmed african american teen in florida. >> he was killed at the hands of a neighbourhood watch captain who claims he felt threatened the story is gaining attention around the world

cries for justice from the black community sarah similar monos is back with us in studio with more. >> the call for a federal investigation have been growing louder since 17-year-old trey was killed last month the case sparked outrage and loud protests on college campuses in florida. thousands are crying out for justice in the death of a florida teen, 17-year-old trey von marten he was killed last month walking through a sanford neighbourhood a neighbourhood watch captain is the suspected shooter george zimmerman claims he was acting in self-defense some say that is not the case. >> hey, we have had some brake ins. >> in a 911 call zimmerman gives a description to a dispatcher, of a young black male who appears to be up to no good he ignores the 911

operator and shoots him in the chest. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay we don't need you to do that. >> as it turns out martin was walking home from a convenience store with a bag of skittles in his pocket. rallies are being held on a number of college campuses calling on law enforcement to arrest zimmerman. >> we have to stand for him because they are sitting in their chairs doing nothing. >> police described george zimmerman as a white male, his family says he is hispanic and that he is not racist. civil rights activist al sharpton is expected to join city leaders in sanford florida at a town hall to discuss with residents how the investigation is being handled local prosecutors may not be able to charge zimmerman due to florida law it says a person is allowed to use deadly force if they believe they are facing a deadly threat tony allison back to you. >> thank you. 21 minutes after 7:00 a.m.

>> up next one of america's biggest mysteries what happened to amelia ear hart today secretary of state hillary clinton is helping put the pilot's disappearence back in the lime light. >> time to clear out the clutter and ditch those dust bunnies, holly is live with spring cleaning tips  [ male announcer ] the draw of the past is a powerful thing. but we couldn't simply repeat history.

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secretary of state hillary clinton is meet being scientists and historians to talk about amelia earhart she and her navigator disappeared in 1937 trying to become the first woman to fly around the world. a new search is being launched in june off kiribati.

>> >> congressional subcommittee will hear testimony in the fight over the plan of the dwight d eisenhower memorial his family wants the memorial honouring the 34th president redesigned maintaining the concept focuses too much on his humble kansas rootnot enough on his accomplishments during world war ii and at the white house. washington cathedrals, central tower will be reopened to the public for one day this coming weekend folks will be able to do this additional tower climb for the first time since last year's east coast earthquake they will be held saturday morning 9:30 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., bearesser vision only repairs are on -- and reservations only and are ongoing. fema is giving 3 .8 million dollars to the county

school board to pay for school construction and other costs related to the quake that hit last august fema previously awarded more than $22 million to rebuild an elementary school and high school in wise is a county. -- louise is a county. >> why the first lady was almost moved to tears on david letterman. nice trip to see the cherry blossoms can sour if you get slapped with a parking ticket. everything you need to know if you plan to drive into dc the take on the spring sights. coming up wow, is this our tower cam? where is this from? can't tell that is our tower cam fog out there, here is the proof, we have some thunder storm activity as well, humid, a little crazy, tucker barnes has the latest on weather, and we've got the latest on traffic from julie in just a few moments stay with us we will be right back 7:27 a.m. ñ [ mom ] to me, chex is not just a little bowl of cereal,

it's kind of a big deal. to find nutritious and gluten-free cereals my whole family actually loves? well, the word "wow" comes to mind. and then a friend told me chex has five flavors that are gluten-free. even a cinnamon one the kids love. a nutritious cereal that makes everybody happy? like i said, wow. five flavors. good and gluten free.

i can't stay up late did you? >> i couldn't. >> first lady was on the david letterman show. >> she avoided some of his attempts to get political gossip and talked candidly about her memories of her father. >> my father had multiple

sclerosis and i never knew him to be able to walk but my dad worked so hard and he loved us so much, and i think from him i learned just absolute complete unconditional love the notion that kids really don't need anything but to know that their parents adore them and i think that is the greatest gift they gave us just their constant support and you know, stability and that is really what we try to instill in our girls you talk about raising kids it is just really you know we had rules we had boundaries but there wasn't anything my dad wouldn't do for us. >> the -- >> don't make me cry. >> no. >> this isn't oprah [ laughter ] >> supposed to be letterman. [ applause ] >> what's up? where are the laughs? >> she is a great guest on

these shows. >> the first lady mentioned the time last september when she went to target in disguise she thought her cover was blown after a woman helped her reach for an item in the detergent aisle. >> might have been someone just being nice hey, aren't you? you are not that is very cool. >> let's find out what is going on now with weather hopefully things are beginning to quiet down tucker barnes is back with us. >> hey, tucker. >> no tie this morning allison. >> want to remind you to go down to get your free rita's ice all day long i think we are going to send will down there. there we go we have customers to show up we will send will down there to join us should be a great morning you know why we are doing it we are celebrating the first day of spring. that's right. and feels like spring out there today, thunderstorms showers

moving through, as we speak. here you go most shower activity we are done with it, most shower activity left on the east side of the belt way prince georges county earlier we had pretty good lightning as well a pretty good thunderstorm moving down as well still flashing as you get down to charles and calvert county all this is fading south and east should be out of here shortly left with a little humidity and cloud cover for your morning hours want to mention dense fog advisory as well off to the south and east, with this map, and there you go, south and east of the city includes charles county and st. maries county king george in virginia, under dense fog advisory, visibility about a quarter mile or less off to the south. 63 degrees washington 61 fredericksburg, 60 baltimore, a mild start to your day a warm and humid afternoon a couple showers 75 your daytime high winds out of the east 5 to 10 and then mostly cloudy shower possible, i think most of the night will be dry 55 degrees

your overnight low very warm spring like week 74 tomorrow and then up near 80 degrees perfect cherry blossom viewing weather thursday and friday no big winds in the forecast nice looking forecast, good day to get out and get your free rita's ice that is it for me let's do traffic and there she is, julie wright. >> i know people are missing you at ritas they are hitting me up on twitter and you might want to tweet and let them know will is coming down. duty calls but we appreciate your efforts tucker. >> thank you julie. >> as you work your way in towards nutly accident activity at the roadway blocked off no one able to get by now looks like v dot is loosening up one lane to the left getting by eastbound 6 at nutly -- 66 at nut ly we have reports this wreck involves an over turned vehicle what is important to know one lane left is now getting by you will find delays travelling northbound 395 from the belt way up and across the

14th street bridge heavy volume continues to the belt way. combination of funeral procession and storms have left us hurting on the belt way as you work your way out of land over, silver spring hour commute route 4 to georgia avenue, inbound 50, from the belt way, new york avenue, down to 15 miles an hour 202 accident activity 17 street, only one lane getting by at this time that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. thanks julie. well, you might want to get some great photos but might come home with an unwanted gift as well a parking ticket parking downtown washington is notoriously difficult even more so during the high traffic cherry blossom festival joining us now is lawn anderson director of public relations, aaa mid-atlantic.

is it us are are more tickets issued during the cherry blossom festival. >> no, more tickets are issued these numbers are huge last year during the cherry blossom festival period, dc issued over 68,000 almost 70,000 parking tickets, incredible. >> unbelievable. >> we all know people come down to see pink but probably not looking for that little pink slip under their windshield wiper. >> i bet there is not i was reading too in this information you sent over there are basically 30 federal and city agencies that can write these tickets. >> absolutely. >> unbelievable. >> everybody but tourists can write tickets in washington. this is huge business you got to realize just off the ticket fines last year dc made almost $93 million in revenue, they only made 40 off the meter charges so over twice as much

off the fines, so you know, if you are coming downtown, or you are coming from somewhere else in the nation, to view the cherry blossoms, our best advice is you know, leave your car at the hotel, or park it somewhere on the outside, you know, another thing a lot of these signs downtown are confusing, even phds get tickets after looking and trying to figure out zone, time, and often signs conflict the fact is, that dc is out to make a lot of money on tourists unfortunately not through dining and hotels, but through parking tickets. >> seems like a little short sighted, shooting yourself in the foot. >> talk about going after the golden goose i mean, tourists in washington are the golden goose but dc doesn't appreciate them for that instead of welcoming them with open arms we do it with open ticket books. >> they are ready with those portable ones. >> you bet. >> here are real tips ride the rails metro i think most people understand that one, also dc

circulator though, right there are express buses or buses that can help you get around. >> flee buses to help you -- free buses to help you get around and a whole system of tourist buses too you can pay to ride the tourist buses also they are installing new bicycle facilities on the mall, if you enjoy biking, you know you are not going to get a parking ticket biking it can be a wonderful way in good weather providing we don't have thunderstorms, to see the mall as well. >> national park service has the express, right is this new? is this the union station, starting at union station going to different points is that new? >> i think it is. >> all right. and if you can find one of those spots at haines point you can do that. >> there are some free spots at haines point. remember, dc only has 17,200- metered spots and a million plus visitors coming in competition for those spots is going to be really tough best advice again, is find a good

parking place for your car, hopefully a hotel or some other lot and leave it there, trying to find street parking and not you know getting a ticket is a challenge they literally have an army of ticket writers out there, that will mar your visit to washington. >> and i was going to say you could be towed even locals you got to figure out where your car is. >> look for the red top too. there are people out there to help. >> yes, there are. red caps. >> okay. >> in the downtown area, they can be very helpful. >> all right i know triple-a when you are a tourist coming into dc, i personally am a triple-a person i know that you can find a way or find this information, before you come in town that is the thing you come in town thing you are going to park and all of a sudden don't have a car. >> the concierge in the hotel where you stay or even if you are not staying there, go into the hotel and ask the concierge often they have maps and tips

for right around that area this can be very very helpful. >> we are hoping tourists are already here watching this morning but you can also always go to our site myfoxdc.com and get all this great advice from lawn anderson triple-a mid- atlantic. >> thanks hopefully that number will be lower this year 68,000 tickets last year. >> ridiculous, 7:40 a.m. now on tuesday morning as we just said finding a place to park in dc a legal spot is challenging enough a move to help handicapped drivers is facing backlash by drivers who need the spots the most. we will explain when fox 5 morning news continues  look, every day we're using more and more energy.

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>> dc council woman bowser plans to introduce an emergency bill to temporarily halt enforcement of red top parking meters, the program that would make people with handicapped plates and plaque cards pay for parking is supposed to be

introduced by april. metro will introduce what its latest map will look like, like noma to reflect the area north of massachusetts avenue. for those of you who don't understand noma. kings street and ballpark to navy yard stop, it indicates rush plus which starts in june, that will add a number of trains during the rush hour on orange line and allow some blue line service to be picked up by orange and yellow trains. >> what is that? >> is this complicated enough. >> those are carrots >> i guess they will serve carrots. >> keeping with the orange theme. >> what did you say matt? >> oh, we want to let you know about a power outage, nothing to do with carrots, impacted a school in prince georges

county. >> kluverton -- kluver on the elementary school is closed. you guys heard the thunder i saw the lightning i was out on rhode island avenue wow it was amazing i mean just lit up the whole sky. >> super loud. it startled all of us. >> powerful storms working through. the good news once it passes south and east we will be relatively quiet. >> and the storm knocked your tie off. >> it came flying right off. thanks tony i thought i was going to be out. >> i know. >> looks good. >> calls me back and then makes fun of me allison. >> i have a scarf i will work up an as cot for you later. shower activity pushing into southern maryland, one or two left over showers over the east earn portion of the belt way, towards annapolis, this will be out of here in another hour and then just be kind of soupy out there, clouds, a little fog this morning and some breaks sunshine, it will

feel almost summery around here temperatures in the 70s future cast let's put it in action, 1 or 2 showers will pop up during the course of the day here we are at noon could there be a shower this afternoon yes most of the day cloudy and murky, there we are 6:00 p.m. tonight a few more left over showers and we are really not expecting much in the way of rain pretty good thunder storm, most of the day partly to mostly cloudy mild temperatures in the mid-70s. there is your five day warm it up near 80, most of the week dry then be a little cooler end of the weekend, by sunday and monday highs may only be 60s. brr. >> allison, it is only march. >> still. >> i like the look and i think viewers like it too. >> really? >> they feel like we don't have to be in a tie. >> maybe we should propose that. >> all right see how that goes. >> julie right now and find out what is happening with traffic. >> if you don't have to be in ties i don't have to be in the

dress. >> no, no, we got to draw the line somewhere. all of a sudden the hg just got a lot bigger. as you approach nutly street remains, involving the one over turned, folks coming from centerville to the belt way, springfield towards 66, 395 on the brakes from the belt way up and across the 14th street bridge earlier incident on the east way cleared, leaving land overheaded around towards georgia avenue right now looking at a 50 minute commute route 4 to georgia avenue that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. thank you it is officially spring that means time to get your house in order for the season. >> our holly morris is making it look easy this morning good morning holly. >> good morning to you. does your house look a little something like this stuff everywhere, you don't know what to do with, now that spring ha,

and encouraged to do a little spring cleaning but might need a little help we brought in experts this morning we are starting with closets a closet full of clutter and a home office that is a little disheveled where to begin and how to make progress we will show you live next fox 5 morning news stay with us 

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those are the good old days. >> time to say good morning to the fox 5 facebook fan of the day, ashley towns end says she and her baby watch fox 5 every morning. >> love it. >> this is her daughter zoe. she is turning 1-year-old thursday she has been watching since she was born even while in the hospital. >> really. >> even while eating. >> she is like hey, tony what's that. >> if you want to be tomorrow's

fan of the day head to facebook search fox 5 morning news, and post a comment under the adorable ashley's photo. well, this isn't ashley but zoe. >> cute self. >> this first day of spring holly morris is doing some spring cleaning. >> she is at a home in northwest dc the learn the best ways to organize and store items in your home you have my full and complete attention holly good morning. >> you know i was just thinking this would have been a good week series day one at your house allison, day two tonies, day three at mine we all could have volunteered our homes for this segment many of you at home right now are thinking the same thing, spring is here and i have the urge to just kind of declotter, reorganize and spruce things up. but where do i begin well, that is what we are going to do give you tips but we are starting at the home of the selecky this is employee sans and sailor good

morning. -- pleasance and sailor good morning. >> sailor is 4 and there is my husband mel and our baby -- >> the boys. >> milo. >> hanging in the kitchen. >> having breakfast. >> and a dog too there is a lot of similarities with families out there one of the biggest challenges you have in terms of keeping your house together. >> stuff we have piles everywhere we get so many -- we have socks and shoes and clothes and little toys legos that aren't safe for the baby and then his toys and it just seems there is stuff everywhere. >> stuff begets more stuff. >> as soon as i clean it up we are playing with more stuff. >> our first expert of the morning michael is with simple storage, i am sure you have heard this story time and time again. >> i have we can look at this closet we are changing from

winter and spring what do you do with it all. with little kids they want something new every day of the week that is where simple storage comes in we have these bins you can store anything you ever want in we will drop them off at your house, you know you can take as many as you want or few as you need fill it with whatever for example coats falling off in winter time simply pull them and put them in, they can fit up to 10 or 15 coats. >> that is your first tip in terms of changing into the new season put away the winter stuff you don't need it. >> absolutely change out your whole closet put all your christmas decorations away you don't have to thing about it not taking up any space in your home keep it all free for anything else you have for the next season. >> organize it put it away label it does that seem practical. >> seems wonderful. >> how do you know how many bins or what size bin. >> that is what we are here for we will come to your house you see simple storage we roll up in the van take out the bins

see exactly what you are there for online you can see a bincalculator we can help you figure it out when our experts come they can help you figure out how much you need. >> closet is one thing usually i just throw stuff in the closet and close the doors you know what i am talking about another area people have challenges with, a lot of people have home offices theirs happens to be on the fourth floor we went upstairs took some pictures it is an office you use you work in it. >> yep. >> there is stuff everywhere what is the challenge with the office. >> papers in terms of staying on top of organizing the papers, making files, and just staying on top of it. daily really. >> daily. >> it is a daily thing. michael what is your suggestion you have brought somethings down in terms of how to organize papers. >> the best thing about simple storage we can help you with this we have all these documents projects and taxes and bills and everything you

don't need in your house keeping up your office clutter we will digitize them for you, so you can put them in a box have them all organized we digitize them and give you the electronic record and safely store all your documents so they are safe from water damage and everything else you can imagine and this will get rid of up to 80% of the clutter. >> go from that to a disk. >> if it says out of order on it get it fixed or throw it out today. >> great. love it. >> spring has sprung that is the thing myfoxdc.com is our website we have a link to simple storage if you want to find out more how they can help you store things and reorganize. in our next hour how you feeling about your decorating right now. >> needs to be spruced up. >> that is good expert number two, ait seems to me schwartz is here and she will talk about -- amy swart is here and she will talk about refreshing your house for spring in the 8:00 a.m. hour. >> good stuff. >> thank you holly. >> still to come a growing

problem nationwide we are talking about bullying next hour an expert on the issue and children's author joins us with tips on what you should do if your child falls victim. >> also after 8:00 a.m., more reason to eat your fruits and veggies a new study suggests they may hold the key to healthier looking skin. fox medical team takes a closer look. how did this small colorado town get through tough economic times? freight rail. it attracted large eating over seventeen hundred jobs. then suppliers, stores, more companies followed, creating more jobs. economists call that the ripple effect. i call it the freight rail effect. freight rail connects every rner of america, bringing jobs and economic growth along for the ride. visit freightrailworks.org.

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we are learning more this morning about the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians, what he says about the night he allegedly went on the rampage. meantime pentagon is laying out its plans for what is next in afghanistan. >> here at home meantime republican presidential candidates are gearing up for the illinois primary on capital hill the chair of the house budget committee, paul ryan is releasing his budget plan and causing concern on both sides to of the aisle. today is the first official day of spring coincides with the kick off to the cherry blossom festival and the peak bloom of the cherry blossoms we will take you live to the tidal

basin. >> that shot can only improve. >> kind of grey, cloudy good morning i am tony perkins. >> i am allison seymour. beginning of spring beginning of the cherry blossom festival. >> it is a little grey we had a pretty good thunder storm move through the city probably not telling you any thing you don't already know you probably heard it. could use the rain not a lot of wind with it. i was outside and it wasn't terribly windy blossoms should be intact. >> good. >> this might be for the remainder of the week. very quickly showers, fading off to the south and east generally out of here watching in southern maryland parts of prince georges county charles county you will encounter some showers on your way out the door this morning but looks like thunderstorm activity is falling apart last couple frames want to mention the dense fog advisory viewers south, george county virginia

parts of southern maryland, charles county under the dense fog advisory until 10:00 a.m. this morning visibility earlier were a quarter mile or less but to be honest that thunder storm activity shower activity as it pushes down into southern maryland will mix up the atmosphere and should dissipate the fog relatively quickly. 63 degrees washington, we are off to a nice and mild start feels humid out there and you know what, bad hair day, warning bad hair day, 90% humidity, first bad hair day of the year first day of spring cloudy, mild a little sunshine temperatures mid-70s and a little humidity too. >> all right thanks tucker. >> let's find out what is happening on traffic. >> i don't know what that means, it just sounds funny. >> julie tony says he has to put his hair back in his can because it is humid. it just sounds funny. can.

like -- >> julie just go on. >> it springs out. >> usually when we say can we mean something completely different. >> yeah. >> all right on the roads this morning we've had our hands full weather, that came through the area, the belt way honestly is still recovering from the funeral procession that came through earlier and then combination of weather that is why you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic this is the live shot of eastbound 66 approaching nutly, crash approaching the over turned vehicle one lane left, big delays out of manassas, crawling through centerville, we will map out problems right now for you, westbound route 102, 95 accident cleared southbound baltimore washington parkway on the breaks, 175, headed to powder mills, southbound 29, below speed 32 to the belt way 95 stacking up laurel headed down towards the belt way if you were travelling inbound on 50, delays out of annapolis and buoy, outer loop of the belt way coming from

land over, silver spring, inbound 50 delays, 15 miles an hour at land over, that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. a new series of explosions kills dozens in iraq this morning this death toll has been rising all morning it is now up to 46, bombings in 8 cities across iraq targeted 8 builds and shiite pilgrims one of the deadliest blasts was in the holy shiite city bombings also hit near baghdad's green zone. in our other top story this morning the sergeant accused of murdering 16 innocent civilians cannot remember much of the shootlings, staff sergeant robert bales talked to his lawyer for the first time yesterday, attorney john henry brown says his client has only a sketchy memory of the rampage. meanwhile the sergeant's wife put out a statement saying

quote my family including mine and bob's extended families are all profoundly sad we extend our condolences to all the people of the district, our hearts go out to all of them especially the parents brothers, sisters and grandparents of the children who perished. she goes on to say news reports are quote completely out of characters of the man i know and admire. later this morning on capital hill the top american general in afghanistan will answer questions from lawmakers on the house armed services committee about the war he is expected to say the u.s. is not changing the timeline for withdrawing troops, and will not pull out of afghanistan early. allison. thanks tony the latest from the campaign trail illinois is holding its primary today there is a lot at stake in this contest 54 delegates up for grabs the latest numbers favour romney with the real clear politics of polls giving him an

8 point lead over rick santorum he is focussing his attack on president barack obama's economic policies santorum meantime is going after romney he says health care should be the focus of the campaign. while the gop contenders on president obama's home turf, illinois he will be at the the white house today meeting with the prime minister of ireland. >> dc city council expected to take up campaign finances today, ward 3 councilmember mary che plans to propose a $25 limit on money orders given to campaigns this comes after the u.s. attorneys office sent subpoenas to the campaigns of several city leaders neither the mayor northe council members campaigns have received these subpoenas. mary airs seasoner pleaded guilty to stealing more than $400,000 in city money she

accessed tax payer accounts and entered fraudulent changes that resulted in credits from 2007 to 2011. the vast majority of the refunds went directly into her bank accounts. it seems likely income taxes on marylanders will go up just how many tax payers will be effected a state house committee voted to raise taxes on far fewer people than a senate plan calls for under the house proposal tax rates would go up by a quarter percent on single filers making more than $100,000 joint filers making more than $150,000 a year. to make up for the drop of revenue called for by the senate maryland house plan calls for phasing in a teacher pension shift, in three years instead of four and making deeper cuts, to pensions. 8:07 a.m. a new report out claims dcs water agency initially mislead the environmental protection ageneral about the way it tested for lead in water. a report by dcs inspector

general dc water and sewer authority stopped testing for lead in parts that were known to have high levels to meet epa goals the elevated levels of lead in early 2000 the spike blamed on the use of chemicals. >> our big story this morning spring is in the air, today winter officially comes to an end and the national cherry blossom festival officially kicks off this year is a special one marking 100 years since the trees came to dc from japan. fox 5s. melanie alnwick is live at the tidal basin with details and a look at the blossoms in bloom good morning. >> some early shutterbugs have come back out we had quite a weather squall blow through earlier if you didn't know better you would have thought it was snowing with metals starting the blow that is no --

me peta les starting to blow that is not what you want to see. visitors who want to experience the cherry trees in full bloom are making plans to get down here this weekend, the warmer weather does mean that the tidal basin's 3700 cherry trees have popped earlier than usual for their centennial anniversary, this year's festival is grander as well, but it features of course all the favorites including the annual cherry blossom parade. >> we know we will have lots and lots of people here, the festival goes on beyond the blooms a five week celebration because this year is the 100 year anniversary of the gift of trees from japan we will tell the story how the wonderful gift has become the nations greatest springtime celebration. >> let's look at some events going on kicking off this weekend, family fun day national building museum, big blossom kite festival next weekend fireworks celebration,

parade and street fair of course april 14th and all of this will wrap up april 27th with tidal fest and a block par pi and of course, we know being here from dc area there will be road closures, traffic jams, asking everybody to be aware there is limited parking they want to remind everyone if you want to come down and experience the trees take metro back to you. all right. >> thank you. >> and it is now 10 minutes after 8:00 a.m., the fox medical team is covering interesting topics from ways to recognize symptoms of adhd to a trick to help you work out longer that has to do with the palms of your hands all coming up on fox 5 morning news. up next budget talks on capital hill proposal said to include big cuts in funding for federal agencies we will break it down with ed o'keefe. stay with us 

first day of spring. >> how about that. >> love it. can i be honest i love it. >> it is official. tucker barnes is here to tell us all about that and more. >> cuteness factor of the day let's get down to it time for my first 5 photo of the day. >> ah. >> what beautiful smile this is kalil. >> he is an award winning cuteness factor. >> is that a crown. >> that is a little crown. >> okay here is the deal he is 8 months old, and he was recently one of the winners this is a contest tony interviewed for of the spoiled and rotten kids spot cutest baby contest. >> i was at that event and saw that baby in person, and that baby is so sweet. there were two winners that is one of them that baby is so cute. >> spoiled rotten kids spa. >> that is the name of the kids spa. >> spoiled and rotten. >> that is the name. >> it is an actual kids spa. >> they have two locations go

there as a kid and be pampered good idea. >> great idea. >> good idea >> they didn't have that when i was a kid. >> me neither. >> all right congratulations love the crown and trophy >> it is as tall as he is. >> he is sitting down but it is as big as he is. >> he is 8 months old already won more trophies than i have. let's do weather thank you kalil. couple showers pushing over southern maryland and down towards leonard town, right on the edge of that a few more showers calvert county, mostly cloudy day not a whole lot of sun temperatures mid-70s right now regan national our temperature, there you go, 62 degrees, down to 62 regan national 59 annapolis, 57 leonard town, and off to the north and west, martins burg, 57 degrees going to be another mild afternoon hard to believe the first day of spring

temperatures mid-70s, 75 today and there is your five day nice and warm end of the week enjoy the cherry blossoms, sunshine highs upper 70s maybe low 80s by the end of the week that is a quick look at weather let's do traffic. telling people to go down to see the cherry blossoms encourages them to take metro avoid the hustle, enjoy the walk around town on the road, eastbound 66, accident activity, traffic squeezing by using the two left lanes at this point headed inbound towards nutly big delays, manassas towards this accident scene other side of town southbound baltimore washington parkway, lanes are open, down to powder mill, 25 minute commute accident activity reported powder mill, southbound 29 grid lock 32, good 30 minute commute there, inbound 50, still toward speed, find delays on the outer loop, leaving route 4, 54 minute delay as you travel around the

belt way, 15 miles an hour land over road lanes are open new york avenue slow getting through those traffic lights northeast, northwest, that is a check of your fox 5 on time traffic. this coming debt crisis is the most predictable crisis we have ever had in this country and look what is happening. >> that is republican representative paul ryan chair of the house budget committee. his budget is causing rumbles not just among democrats but republicans as well. lawmaker suggest it could reopen the spector of a government shut down joining us for a look at what is at stake ed o'keefe federal eye columnist at washington post that is quite the video we only showed a little clip but if you want to see it. >> like a horror movie.

>> with the music and that is a long hallway. >> very long. >> it is a dramatic video, what do we know though, about what paul ryan will propose there aren't many facts in that. >> exactly the big number is $1.098 trillions a figure below the deal set last summer remember the debt negotiations he is coming in with a spending proposal on discretionary spending all the agency spending more than a trillion dollars what the hand shake deal was last year that is upsetting the white house and a lot of congressional democrats and some republicans on the appropriations committee they say look if you do this we are not going to get democratic support the white house will never sign off we could face another government shut down come end of the fiscal year september just a few weeks before the presidential election. >> right so i mean i would think obviously as you just said people on both sides don't really want that. why is he coming in so low.

i mean i know what the objective is we got to control spending and you know cut the deficit and all that kind of thing but it does undermine that hand shake agreement >> undermines the hand shake agreement doesn't undermine tea party backed conservative lawmakers very upset with that proposal last year the feeling this year is that they have to do something to appease those guys get them back onboard this is what they want they ran on this issue, the deficit is out of control they have to pay it down and this they feel republicans do is a serious proposal to get that started. >> those are the tea partyers for democrats is it -- are his proposals a nonstarter. >> senate democrats already on the other part of capital hill who run the budget said don't do this we are not going to sign off on it senate has passed a resolution going with that figure from last summer and completely throwing this out the window, but that is what republicans want they want to fight with democrats they want to provide that contrast we are serious about cutting the deficit they are not we are

serious about reforming medicare they are not. >> do they want to fight about medicare and social security because federal agencies i understand that, but these entitlement programs again you talk about log jamming and you know not being able to come to an agreement that is something that perennially they can't seem to come to an agreement on. >> yeah, a year ago ryan was saying we are not going to have a conversation about this before the election we probably won't but the proposal he will put forth has democratic support. senator white of oregon he worked with him on this. it is a ramp medicare program that would allow seniors to take a voucher and find a private deal, the white house said no that will destroy medicare as we know it not a good plan could jeopardize the health care for seniors republicans says the part of this conversation we need to have if we don't have these conversations medicare will go broke. >> speaking of health care you are anticipating my questions here let's focus on what else is going on in congress this week in fact, at the supreme court there will be a lot of

focus on the president's health care reform and whether it stands or whether parts of it continue to stand tell me about that. >> next week we have three days of oral arguments unprecedented before the supreme court basically discuss the constitutionality of the individual mandates today in the house they will vote on a bill to repeal what is called the ipad the independent panel -- some kind of advisory board they call it unelected bureaucrats republicans do in 2014 start meeting to find ways to cut costs in medicare republicans say that is a federal over reach why would we have this unelected board of so called officials telling us what to do with medicare. there is democratic support for that but senate unlikely to take it up because there is more resistance to getting rid of this board. think will talk about ways to chip away at the health care law majority of americans want at least part of that law to go

away if not all of it. >> democrats say the more people learn about it the more they like it. ed o'keefe thank you for coming in. >> yep >> allison. >> time now 8:21 a.m. on tuesday morning, secretary of state hillary clinton, wading into the amelia earhart mystery details coming up next on fox 5. >> later this hour, time for spring cleaning but where to begin, holly morris is getting some valuable tips for us all we will be right back  whatcha lookin' for hon?

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it is 8:25 a.m. now taking a look at stories making headlines this morning france is in shock, and the biggest man hunt in decades is now under way in the southern part of the country police are looking for the man or men who are behind yesterday's shooting at a jewish school in toulouse a man on a motorcycle shot and killed a rabbi and then a his 3- year-old and 6-year-old sons and then a chased down a -- and then chased down a little girl

before killing her. the justice department has launched an investigation into the shooting of martin, zimmerman called 911 about a suspicious young black man and then followed martin. turns out he was just walking home from a convenience store with a bag of skittles in his pocket. earhart and her navigator disappeared in 1937 while earhart was trying to become the first woman to fly around the world a new search for the wreckage is being launched in june off the pacific nation of kiribati, clinton hopes to highlight her legacy for women. it is 8:26 a.m. on this tuesday morning update on the earthquake damage at the national cathedral coming up next after the break. >> plus the fascinating find that can help you work out longer and it has to do with the palms of your hands.

we will get details from the fox medical team. . 

severe weather whipping through parts of the united states forecasters say heavy rain and hail could cause major flooding in areas of oklahoma, missouri kansas arkansas and texas overnight a tornado touched down just outside of san antonio reports of over turned big rigdowned power lines are coming out of medina county, no reports of any deaths. >> virginia holding a statewide tornado drill today 51 tornadoes hit the state last year the second highest number on record 10 people sadly lost their lives, today's drill is set for 9:45 a.m., everyone is encouraged to practice their tornado safety plan to find out more go to myfoxdc.com and look under web links also check out weather guide on our website

myfoxdc.com tony. >> virginia county school board is getting a 3 .8 million dollars grant federal emergency management agency is giving the school board the money to pay for school construction and other damages caused by last year's earthquake. fema already awarded more tan $22 million to virginia schools damaged in that quake. >> closed to the public since the august earthquake but this weekend the national cathedral's central tower will reopen for the traditional tower climb. the tower's pinnacles were damaged during the quake even though work is still being done central tower is deemed structurally sound visitors who want to make the climb need to make a reservation first. good to see it is coming back slowly but still coming back. >> mr. marathon guy you going to do that too. >> that is next on the list i have never done it before. >> i haven't either. >> if you can do the marathon you can do that >> i hope so too i feel like i

can do anything now. earlier i was down at rita's ice on rhode island avenue, and a big storm brought me back but we sent down will and sarah and they will be encouraging everybody to come down for you know it is free all day for the first day of spring get down there and say hi to will and sarah. >> they are serving. >> there you go. >> so come down and join us i guess we will check with them in a couple minutes. >> sample tuckers pucker or tucker pucker. >> we will have to get the official title in a minute. >> that is a big deal when we come down in the past they have named >> i feel honored. >> we get to create our own. >> i forget what mine is called. >> hollies is called holly berry,. >> that is cute. >> something about fruit punch. >> quickly you can get free water ices at the ritas in oxen hill they wrote to us and asked that we mention them too. there you go.

>> quickly get to the weather forecast and thunderstorm, yeah, blew through the area earlier now south and east of the city southern maryland once you get rid of this most of the day will feature a mix of clouds with a little bit of sunshine a little humid maybe a bad hair day in store. temperatures regan national, 62 degrees, 62 dulles, 61 fredericksburg this forecast is relatively straightforward, mix of sun and clouds warm temperatures for the first day of spring mid-70s later this afternoon and could be a scattered shower or thunderstorm this afternoon but honestly most of the day should feature dry weather here is your five day a few showers 74 degrees most of the week in fact the entire week temperatures well above normal if you want to get down and check out the cherry blossoms thursday and friday mostly sunny highs near 80 degrees. this is a real nice start to spring this year that is a look at the weather forecast, back

to you. thanks tuck. a new health alert about adhd symptoms include traits most children display at some point or another but how do you know if your child has adhd plus a fascinating find to help you work out longer and do fruits and veggies make you more attractive, dr. mike joins us now, live good morning dr. mike. >> hello allison how are you. >> doing well thank you going to eat my fruits and veggies but first i want to talk about signs of adhd the introduction was right kids can display some of these and we are not sure when we need to seek medical attention. what are the signs to look for. >> well, there is three areas one is inattention your child is unable to sit still and pay attention always fidgeting and can't sit still they are

impulsive answer questions before the question is asked things like that and most of these kids will be diagnosed before the age of 7, now you have to have symptoms over the top like this for about 6 months in both a home setting and a school setting, or in an older person, work and home, so those are the criteria, and only a parent knows, i have a 4 month old and a 4-year-old at home and i mean having me as a parent, no wonder they are off the wall a little bit but these are kids that are continuously out of hand and not acting normal. >> all right and when you see some body about it there is also the medicate or not to medicate that is an ongoing debate. >> yeah, it is a matter of degree if you have a child not doing well in school not getting along with kids you don't want them to suffer needlessly they may need treatment i just have a problem with medicating 10% of 10-year-

old boys in the country, because we are very quick to make the diagnosis, so it is an individual decision you as a parent and your health care provider need to make. >> all right. something interesting, by keeping the palms of your hands cool, helps you work out longer what is this about. >> allison i am so excited about this study i can't even tell you what they did was they took obese people, people with a body mass index over 30, and they cooled their palms, even with just like cold water and they lost 3 inches of circumference around their waist they lost weight and exercised more over a couple months fascinating study easy for everybody out there to do. >> cool down the palms. >> now dr. mike some times these studies come out and i am like didn't we already know that but there is a new study that shows eating healthy your fruits and veggies going to help your skin look healthier is that a no brainer.

>> well, allison, the study went even further, it made people more attractive, now i brought some carrots with me the coo retinoids in carrots and colorful peppers things like that pigment the skin they make you have a little bit of a yellow color and the study was emphasizing the fact these people were looked upon as more attractive, so even those eating this, it is great inside all your parts, but also makes you more attractive, so maybe just maybe someone out there listening will say you know what i don't really care about my liver, but i really care about how hot i look, and so i am going to eat more carrots and peppers and you know, as bugs bunny said what's up dock. >> how much do we have to eat dr. mike to get the tint of carrots or yellow peppers or what have you. >> right. the study actually showed moderate intake so you don't

have to eat a whole bushel of carrots this is moderate intake something we should do all the time, any way, so instead of carrots are a great way if you are snacking, during the day hungry at work bring your carrots instead of some sugary treat high in sugar and carbohydrates go with stuff like this. >> thank you so much. >> love you >> love you back. >> and dr. mike, he referred to our chitlings pig intestines, as our innerds. >> it is a cute way to use that. >> oprah's new network making some moves in an ongoing

struggle, to survive. we've got details coming up next at the break. >> i have a way to help her ratings up. >> me too. >> call us oprah. >> oprah. >> plus a new eye opening reminder to keep your social media squeaky clean wait until you hear what some job applicants are being asked to do at some interviews. they are being asked to give your passwords but we have more fox 5 morning news will be right back turn left. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month.

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>> oprah winfrey's network called own is laying off 30 employees, this as the station restructures operations in new york and los angeles oprah released a statement saying the decision was a tough one but that the economics of a start up cable network didn't fit with own's cost structure oprah launched own last year viewer ship has not been what the network hoped for last week producers cancell o'donnell's low rated talk show. >> warning for people looking for a new job some employers asking for facebook user names and passwords as a way to screen job applicants a george washington university law professor said it is like requiring someone's house keys companies that don't ask for passwords have taken other

steps such as asking applicants to friend a human resources manager, or to log in to a company computer during an interview. now fox 5 job of the day, innova health systems in falls church looking for a physical therapist in acute care for more on this and to see other listings head to myfoxdc.com look for the job shop. it is 8:43 a.m. now, tuesday, sorry today, is the first official day of spring which means there is some work to do around the house. >> holly morris is focussing on spring cleaning. >> good morning all of us are coming out of the drab season of winter and it is the perfect time to spruce up your home for spring as well not only in terms of cleaning but in terms of decorating we are all about the experts this morning and this hour, we have an interior designer with us she will take this blank slate and make it into something beautiful and

palatable for the season. watch her work live next fox 5 morning news stay with us i was paying too much with cable.

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welcome back fox 5 morning news, it is now 8:46 a.m. >> it is the first day of spring, officially now, and sarah and will are celebrating with a sweet treat in northeast this morning hello there. >> hello. >> good morning. >> we actually had to kick tucker out so we could have our own water ice named after us no, it is a great time we are having a good time down here the 2300 block rhode island avenue, that ritas is where we are for free water ice regular size come on down any flavour you want we may even make up a flavour. >> here is the deal i guess it is a right of passage sarah if you come down here and do a live shot, the ladies here, they will actually name a flavour after you i mean this is why i love this job. so they let me pick out my flavours just a short time ago i will go to the freezer and get it she wouldn't tell me she came up with the name i will

get it and then you announce the name i will be right back. >> you guys are very crafty. >> we are and we are going to let him taste it first and then see his reaction and then we will let him know what it is named. >> here it is. here it is ready i am trying it. >> can you tell us what is in it? >> yes. >> okay it is chocolate custard on the bottom black cherry cheese cake in the middle and black -- rather chocolate custard on the top right. >> exactly. >> what are we naming it. >> will's chill. >> nice. >> so chocolate custard, black cherry cheese cake, chocolate custard on the top thank you. >> it is a chilly thrill. >> let's talk about only of these flavours,. >> we have italian ice the most popular flavour, we have pina colada, passion fruit, blue raspberry, mint chip and then

strawberry just to let you know these three flavours in the corner man doe, pina colada and passion fruit make up the fox 5 fruit explosion named for our good friend tony perkins. >> his mouth is watering now i know yours is. >> this is the pear this is really good too and you have a new flavour today. >> the new flavour is black cherry cheese cake that is cream ice. >> yum and in the 9:00 a.m. hour you are going to give sarah a flavour too. >> we sure are. >> thank you. i love the wills chill it is good. >> come on down. free all day long right. >> yep. >> back the you guys. >> okay it is another right of passage that you bring us some back. >> i will. >> okay. >> folks if you go out there ask for the fox 5 fruit explosion because it always gets back up there on the list. >> thank you guys. >> holly morris is getting some great tips today

>> she is at a home in northwest dc learning all the best ways to do a little spring cleaning and organizing holly speaking my language good morning. >> okay are you ready? this will be the 4 minute miracle you will like this. we will transform a room in a very short amount of time and it will just feel like spring in here and we are doing it, under the watchful eye of pleasance this is your home and this is your family room and of course milo too. you have an 8 month old, 4-year- old, husband and dog not a lot of time to redecorate. >> we have done nothing since either child. >> you can find 4 minutes for us to spruce it up >> i would love it. >> well, i will leave 4 minutes for you to watch and i will do it with the help of our expert of the hour amy schwartz, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> so redecorating doesn't have to be hard. >> not at all.

>> doesn't have to cost a lot. >> this is all done you will see afterwards it is all done under a thousand dollars. >> we are transforming a family room we have the basic stuff here basic colors, so are we ready to work. >> ready. >> where are we starting. >> first thing hang up this beautiful canvas. >> okay. >> adds a pop of color very quickly changes the feeling of the room. >> so this is probably also, a good argument for making your walls kind of neutral, so that you can always change your art work and that is where you can get your pop of color. >> yes, you don't have to commit to a wall color just hang a beautiful picture with a lot of color and we have a neutral flooring here as well next thing we will add a colorful rug. >> how do you know how to make sure all the colors coordinate it will not be like too much. >> well, we just pulled some colors straight from the canvas, and pretty simple,. >> doesn't have to be like super custom stuff this is from pier one.

>> doesn't need to be custom at all or expensive you can do a solid colored rug and i will show you in a few minutes how this is reversible and more subdued on the other side. >> great for kids love it. >> doesn't show any dirt. >> so what next our time is fleeting. >> next we will just add these ottomans back and then what we will do is add some throw pillows for color on to the sofa. >> i think they are over here. >> if you have like a lot of colors in your prints you picked two colors from the pillows. >> we pull colors directly from the painting and immediately the feeling of the room changes because the color is so vibrant. >> it is good to do color and texture. >> yes. color and texture see how these are -- frilly pillow. >> and these are all kid friendly you don't have to worry about your kids ruining these nothing is silk or you

know fine fabrics very easy. >> so milo can it and up on this and we are good. >> yes. >> that is important. >> next thing we will do is just add some colorful floral arrangements. >> good thing about that you have it in there now but that is something you can change as the seasons change. >> right a lot of this you can change out seasonally you can change out the throw pillows bring this some darker reds from the darker oranges for fall, for the next season, or you can change these out to darker oranges and the fall colors as well so it is easy and then like i said before this rug, is actually reversible. >> i do see but if this is a little too much,. >> if this is a little too bright for you for fall swap it out and make it more subdued or pick a different rug that is a darker shade. a few more accessories for summer. >> love that. >> spring summer. >> and then you can swap these

out too put candles that reflect the fall, you can do a lot of things on there. >> last but not least. >> last but not least, we will put in a metallic lamp, just to keep it light and airy, and this way you are not committing to a color, there are a lot of colorful lamps out there but i would keep it neutral and bright. >> and a throw is something you can change as well. >> yes, you can change all of these things out if you need to store them there is a lot of companies simple storage will come and drop off the bins and then you can store it all for the next season and come back. >> this is just one idea obviously you are an interior designer. >> you can see different ideas i have a lot of before and afters on my website so it is very simple you can you know find all my information. >> we will make it even more simple put a link on our website myfoxdc.com our website we have a link to amy schwartz interiors if you want to find out more about what she does and perhaps get inspirational

ideas in our next hour, clutter we've got the clutter busters coming in we are tackling a kids room, but meanwhile there you go allison our 4 minute miracle back to you. >> just like springtime thank you. >> we have an update on a power outage impacting a school in prince georges county, the power has been restored to calverton school in beltville students will remain at calverton elementary for the day. >> that is good. >> coming up next hour bullying continues to be an eye opening issue in communities around the nation we will share useful expert tips for parents of kids who are being bullied and parents of kids who are the bullies time now, is 8:55 a.m. we will be right back ♪

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good morning i am tony perkins. >> i am allison seymour at 9, word the u.s. will stay the course in afghanistan despite tensions between the countries after a u.s. soldier allegedly went on a shooting spree. now that soldiers wife is speaking out for the first time. >> did you happen to hear the rain and thunder earlier this morning storms moved through the region, they didn't cause any severe weather but national weather service is putting its alarms to the test today details on today's tornado drill in virginia how it can help you. speaking of weather, it is going to be a gorgeous day not only is it the first day of spring but also the first day of the cherry blossom festival, our melanie alnwick is live with details. >> check this out, that is flight time laing he arrived in dc with some pretty cool tricks and he bounced the bam